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Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Bills Waive WR Elijah Moore

November 26th, 2025 at 10:50am CST by Connor Byrne

The Bills signed wide receiver Brandin Cooks to their active roster on Tuesday. The addition of Cooks will cost fellow veteran wideout Elijah Moore his roster spot. The Bills cut Moore on Wednesday, per a team announcement. He’ll become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

The Bills and Moore reached a mutual decision to split, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. The slot receiver eyed more reps, and the Cooks acquisition was set to impede that path in Buffalo.

Moore had a highly productive three-year run at Mississippi, leading the Jets to take him 34th overall in the 2021 draft. After Moore combined for 80 catches and six touchdowns in 27 games during his first two NFL seasons, the Jets traded him and the 74th pick in the 2023 draft to the Browns for the 42nd selection. The deal came several months after Moore requested a trade out of New York.

Moore went on to amass 120 receptions and score three touchdowns during a two-year, 34-game stint in Cleveland, where he earned 25 starts. However, after Moore averaged a career-low 8.8 yards per catch on 61 grabs last year, the Browns didn’t re-sign him. Over a month after free agency opened, Moore settled for the Bills’ one-year offer worth up to $5MM (including $2.5MM in full guarantees) in late April.

Buffalo’s decision to sign the 25-year-old Moore came after it largely struck out in the draft at the receiver position. The Bills selected just one wideout, seventh-rounder Kaden Prather, who’s no longer with the organization. As a result, they opened this season with Moore joining Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Tyrell Shavers as their choices at receiver.

The Bills were likely optimistic Moore would emerge as a solid target for Josh Allen, by far the best quarterback he has ever paired with in his career. It didn’t work out, though. Moore logged two starts over nine appearances with the Bills and caught just nine of 17 targets for 112 yards. His only touchdown came on a four-yard run against the Jets in Week 2.

While Moore could land elsewhere down the stretch, the 7-4 Bills will hope Cooks provides a much-needed boost to their receiving corps. The Moore pickup didn’t yield positive results, while no one from the Coleman-Palmer-Samuel-Shavers group has emerged as a consistent complement to Shakir and currently injured tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Bills Sign WR Brandin Cooks

November 25th, 2025 at 10:28pm CST by Connor Byrne

One day after becoming a free agent, Brandin Cooks has quickly found a new home. The Bills announced that they’ve signed the veteran wide receiver to their active roster.

The Saints and Cooks mutually agreed to part ways last Wednesday, but there was a slight holdup over “contractual technicalities.” After the Saints amended Cooks’ contract, he passed through waivers unclaimed and became free to sign anywhere on Monday.

A first-round pick of the Saints in 2014, Cooks is now heading to his sixth NFL destination. The 32-year-old has been part of a record-tying four trades during his career, but the Saints didn’t find a taker for him before the Nov. 4 deadline. Cooks has endured a down year with just 19 catches and 165 yards (8.7 YPC) over 10 scoreless games, which explains why teams weren’t eager to trade draft compensation for him.

While Cooks didn’t produce much in New Orleans with quarterbacks Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler this season, he may have a better chance in Buffalo with reigning MVP Josh Allen at the helm. Cooks is easily the most accomplished receiver on the Bills’ roster, having amassed 729 catches, 9,697 receiving yards, and 60 touchdowns in 168 regular-season games.

The receiver position has been a sore spot throughout the year for the Bills, who tried to address the issue at the deadline. They reportedly made a significant offer to the AFC East rival Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle, but they failed to reel in him or anyone else. With receiver remaining a problem area, the Bills have dropped two of three since the deadline to fall to 7-4. They’re unlikely to chase down the 10-2 Patriots for a sixth straight division title, and a wild-card berth doesn’t look like a guarantee in a conference loaded with playoff contenders.

The Bills’ need at receiver became even more glaring over the past couple of weeks with head coach Sean McDermott making second-year man Keon Coleman a healthy inactive twice in a row. Coleman sat out a 44-32 win over the Buccaneers in Week 11 after he was consistently late to meetings. He also didn’t play in the Bills’ 23-19 loss to the Texans last Thursday. It’s unclear if he’ll return to the lineup this Sunday in a crucial meeting with the Steelers. Regardless, it’s fair to say Coleman has not panned out as hoped since going 33rd overall in the 2024 draft.

Coleman has joined the majority of the Bills’ receiving corps in underwhelming this season. Slot target Khalil Shakir has put together another productive campaign, but Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Tyrell Shavers have all caught fewer than 20 passes apiece.

While Gabe Davis played in the Bills’ past two games and picked up four receptions for 62 yards, he’s not on their active roster. The Bills can only elevate him from their practice squad one more time before they have to sign him. Mecole Hardman, also on the practice squad, played in one game before going on IR with a calf injury last week.

It’s unknown how many other teams joined Buffalo in vying for Cooks, but Denver was not among them. The AFC West leaders had a connection to Cooks in head coach Sean Payton, who was in charge in New Orleans when the wideout entered the league. Despite that, the Broncos weren’t in the mix for Cooks, according to Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.

Bills Sign DE Shaq Lawson

November 25th, 2025 at 11:22am CST by Adam La Rose

Shaq Lawson visited the Bills yesterday, and his workout clearly went well. A third Buffalo stint is in store to close out the season.

Lawson has signed to the Bills’ practice squad, per a team announcement. He could find himself in the lineup as early as Week 13 by signing to Buffalo’s active roster or by being made one of the team’s gameday elevations from the taxi squad. In any case, Lawson will provide depth along the defensive front on a team needing reinforcements in that area.

Buffalo has struggled against the run in 2025. The team has allowed an average of 149 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 30th in the NFL. Lawson will not be expected to handle a major workload upon rejoining the Bills once again, but he could provide an experienced depth presence up front. Similarly, the 31-year-old could chip in as a pass-rush contributor down the stretch.

Lawson played with the Bills from 2016-19 and then again from 2022-23. The former first-rounder has topped four sacks only once in a season during his career, but he has proven to be a consistent rotational contributor while racking up 110 appearances and 38 starts. Lawson’s last regular season game was his only 2024 appearance, which came with the Panthers.

Now, the Clemson product will join the likes of safety Jordan Poyer and wideout Gabe Davis as veterans brought back to Buffalo for 2025. The play of those three will be worth watching as the 7-4 Bills close out the season. Top spot in the AFC East will be difficult to attain this year, but a wild-card berth is still very much in play.

In a corresponding move, the Bills have released defensive end Andre Jones Jr. The 27-year-old has made 16 regular season appearances in his career, all of which were with the Commanders in 2023 and ’24. Jones did not survive roster cuts with Washington this summer, and he landed with the Bills on their taxi squad before the start of the season. After not seeing any game time so far in 2025, he is now a free agent.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/24/25

November 24th, 2025 at 6:19pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Los Angeles Rams

San Francisco 49ers

The Bills should soon get some extra OL depth, as Grable returned to practice today. The former sixth-round pick landed on IR before the start of the season thanks to concussion symptoms, and that ended up keeping him off the practice field for months. Now, the Bills will have 21 days to consider adding the second-year player to the active roster. As a rookie in 2024, the UCF product got into four games (one start).

Bills Work Out DE Shaq Lawson

November 24th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills had a familiar face in for a workout today. According to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, defensive end Shaq Lawson was in Buffalo for a tryout.

It’s been more than a year since we last heard from Lawson. The pass rusher caught on with the Panthers practice squad back in October of 2024, but he got into only one game with the big-league club before getting cut. Since then, Lawson hasn’t garnered a reported tryout until today.

If Lawson does end up catching on with the Bills, it would represent his third stint with the organization. Lawson first joined the Bills as a first-round pick in 2016, and he proceeded to compile 16.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss through his first four seasons in the league. By virtue of having his fifth-year option declined, Lawson caught on with the Dolphins in 2020 via a three-year, $30MM deal. He only lasted one season in Miami before continuing his tour of the AFC East, as he got into 14 games with the Jets in 2021 (with a brief stop in Houston in between).

He returned to Buffalo for the 2022 campaign and spent two more years with the franchise. In that second stint with the Bills, Lawson added another 4.5 sacks to his resume in 31 games.

The Bills haven’t been afraid of adding old friends in 2025, as the team has had reunions with wide receiver Gabe Davis and safety Jordan Poyer. The team shouldn’t expect too much from Lawson in what would be his age-31 season, but he would add some pass-rush help to a unit that’s currently paced by Joey Bosa‘s four sacks.

2025 Injured Reserve Return Tracker

November 22nd, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2024 offseason brought a change in how teams could construct their 53-man rosters while retaining flexibility with injured players. Clubs were permitted to attach return designations to two players (in total) placed on IR or an NFI list before setting their initial rosters.

In prior years, anyone placed on IR before a team set its initial 53-man roster could not be activated in-season. All August 26 IR- or NFI-return designations, however, already count against teams’ regular-season limit of eight. Teams will be tasked with determining which players injured in-season will factor into activation puzzles as the year progresses.

All players designated for return on August 26 became eligible to be activated beginning in Week 5, though any player placed on IR after a team set its initial 53 has not been designated for return and therefore does not yet count toward a club’s eight-activation limit. Playoff teams will receive two additional injury activations once the postseason begins.

Here is how the 32 teams’ activation puzzles look for Week 14:

Arizona Cardinals

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Atlanta Falcons

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Baltimore Ravens

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Buffalo Bills

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Carolina Panthers

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Chicago Bears

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Cincinnati Bengals

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Cleveland Browns

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Dallas Cowboys

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 2

Denver Broncos

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Detroit Lions

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Green Bay Packers

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Houston Texans

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Indianapolis Colts

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Jacksonville Jaguars

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Kansas City Chiefs

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Activations remaining: 6

Las Vegas Raiders

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Los Angeles Chargers

Designated for return:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Los Angeles Rams

Designated for return:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 7

Miami Dolphins

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Minnesota Vikings

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

New England Patriots

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 7

New Orleans Saints

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

New York Giants

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

New York Jets

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Philadelphia Eagles

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Pittsburgh Steelers

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

San Francisco 49ers

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Seattle Seahawks

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 7

Tennessee Titans

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Washington Commanders

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Bills T Spencer Brown, LB Terrel Bernard Could Hit IR

November 21st, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bills got roughed up in a Thursday night loss in Houston and could see two starters head to injured reserve, as a result. With just six weeks left in the season, Buffalo could potentially lose right tackle Spencer Brown and linebacker Terrel Bernard for at least four weeks as head coach Sean McDermott disclosed today that IR could be a possibility for both players, per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic.

After a night in which the Bills gave up eight sacks, the prospect of losing one of their bookend tackles is a scary one. And while Brown is more well-regarded for his run blocking abilities, swing tackle Ryan Van Demark didn’t fare much better against the Texans’ pass rush as he filled in for Brown last night. Buscaglia noted that Brown was spotted in a sling following the loss in Houston, and Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News provided the update today that Brown’s shoulder injury would require further evaluation.

Based on McDermott’s comments today, the result of the evaluation could end Brown’s season. A placement on IR would require at least a four-week absence, giving Brown a chance to come back in Week 17 at the earliest. If Brown’s shoulder isn’t able to heal in that time, his regular season contributions may be done, and he could be out for a potential postseason run, as well. This would be a first for Brown, who, in his young career, has never had a stint on IR.

Since missing two separate two-week stretches as a rookie, Brown only sat out of four games over the next four seasons. This reliability and run-blocking prowess earned Brown the four-year, $72MM extension he signed before the final year of his rookie contract last year. For whatever time Brown ends up missing, Van Demark will likely step in to start. The fourth-year undrafted UConn alum has three starts for Buffalo in the past two seasons.

Playing through an ankle injury that’s been nagging him over the past five weeks, Bernard hurt his elbow in last night’s game and was described as “week-to-week” by Skurski. The former third-round pick out of Baylor has been a leading tackler for the team over the last three years. After leading the team with 143 in his first year as a full-time starter in 2023, he finished second on the team last year despite missing four games. He’s currently second on the team behind safety Cole Bishop, who’s played one more contest than Bernard.

Luckily for Buffalo, the defense saw veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson return to the field last night after missing three weeks while dealing with a hamstring injury. If Bernard is out for any amount of time, Thompson is a strong candidate to step in amongst starters Matt Milano and Dorian Williams in the front seven.

The team hasn’t resigned to four-week absences for these two starters just yet, though. While an IR placement remains a possibility for both players, there’s a chance both could avoid the lengthy absence. Regardless, despite having a week and half of rest before their next contest, McDermott told reporters that “it doesn’t look great” for Brown and Bernard’s chances of playing in Week 13.

Bills Place WR Mecole Hardman On IR, Promote WR Gabriel Davis From Practice Squad

November 20th, 2025 at 5:50pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills are down another offensive weapon. Less than a week after making his Bills debut, Mecole Hardman is heading to injured reserve, according to the team.

The veteran wideout seemed to be trending towards being at least inactive for Thursday Night Football. After getting into seven offensive snaps on Sunday, the receiver didn’t practice this week while nursing a calf injury. Now, that injury will keep him off the field for at least the next month.

After spending the preseason with the Packers, Hardman landed on Green Bay’s practice squad to start the 2025 campaign. He was released after only a few weeks, and he was a free agent until landing with Buffalo’s taxi squad earlier this month. He was quickly activated to the active roster, and he garnered a single target in his team debut.

Besides a brief stop with the Jets, Hardman had spent the majority of his career playing with the Chiefs. After averaging close to 600 receiving yards per season through his first three years in the NFL, Hardman has been limited to only 511 yards since 2022. He hauled in only 12 catches in 12 games with the Chiefs in 2024, although he did serve as the team’s primary punt returner.

The Bills will be digging into their offensive depth tonight against the Texans. Besides Hardman, the team will also be without tight end Dalton Kincaid, receiver Curtis Samuel, and probably wideout Keon Coleman, who is heading towards a second-straight week of sitting on the sideline. As a result, the team has once again elevated Gabe Davis from the practice squad.

The former Bills standout reunited with the team back in September but sat out the first few months as he continued to recover from a torn meniscus and torn PCL. He made his season debut on Sunday, hauling in three catches for 40 yards. He’ll join a receiver corps that also includes Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Tyrell Shavers, and Elijah Moore. With Kincaid out, the Bills have also promoted TE Keleki Latu from the practice squad.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/25

November 18th, 2025 at 9:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad moves around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Andrew Steuber

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DL Fabien Lovett Sr.

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: WR John Rhys Plumlee
  • Released: S Jack Henderson

Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: S Marcus Banks

Tennessee Titans

Reeves-Maybin, the current NFLPA president, spent most of his career with the Lions but was released this offseason. He worked out with the 49ers in October and now returns to the NFC North with the Bears.

Odum began his NFL career in Indianapolis and is now returning to the Colts after a three-year stint with the 49ers. He will likely provide depth on special teams when elevated from the practice squad.

Kpassagnon, meanwhile, will be looking for his third team this season. He signed in Chicago this offseason to reunite with Dennis Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator and Kpassagnon’s former coach in New Orleans. He played 89 snaps across five games in Chicago before he was released. He then signed with the Colts’ practice squad, but did not make any appearances in blue and white.

The Seahawks signed Jones to their practice squad, but he was released the following day in a health-related move, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Rice, the son of NFL legend Jerry Rice, will get to play for one of his father’s former teams. Jerry Rice played for the Seahawks during his last season in 2004.

Bills WR Keon Coleman Benched For Today’s Game

November 16th, 2025 at 10:14am CST by Ely Allen

It’s no secret that Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has failed to live up to his draft stock thus far in his young career. A slow rookie campaign with a couple missed games is excusable, but Coleman has noticeably taken a step back in Year 2. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, Coleman will not play in today’s game against the Buccaneers. It’s supposedly “not performance-based, though, as Schultz relays it to be “a coach’s decision.”

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided added context for the healthy scratch, citing Coleman’s tardiness to meetings on Friday morning as the reason for his benching. The team had no plans throughout the week of making him inactive but chose an expensive punishment as a result of repeated issues. Per Rapoport, he was benched for a drive against New England earlier this year and benched for a full quarter against Jacksonville last year.

Coleman came to Buffalo with potential and anticipation but not outrageous production. After a quiet true freshman season at Michigan State, Coleman broke out for the Spartans in his second season of play with 58 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. He capitalized on his big year by transferring to Florida State, where, in a quieter passing attack, he led the Seminoles with 50 receptions for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Despite the lack of eye-popping yardage, those 11 scores in garnet and gold underlined his potential as a big-bodied playmaker. At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds coming out of college, the physical frame was there, but the speed was lacking. Coleman ran an unencouraging 4.61-second 40-yard dash, but the Bills thought he played much faster than his dash time, as evidenced by his demonstration in the gauntlet drill, in which he achieved the fastest top speed of any receiver that year.

Coleman’s numbers as a second-round rookie (57 catches-556 yards-four touchdowns) were not overly impressive, but that is understandable for a rookie who missed four games. MVP quarterback Josh Allen targeted Khalil Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid over a third of the time, while Coleman found residual targets in line with fellow receivers Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel. In Year 2, Allen has made more of an effort to involve Coleman, making him the second most-targeted pass catcher on the team, again behind Shakir, but Coleman has seen his yards per game decrease despite the added attention.

With Coleman out, it will certainly be interesting to see how the Bills make up for Coleman’s absence. After Shakir, Coleman, Kincaid, and running back James Cook, Josh Palmer is the fifth leading receiver with a line of 14-234-0. Elijah Moore (8-115-0) and Tyrell Shavers (7-82-0) are also scoreless, making Samuel (5-62-1) the only member of the receiving corps active for today’s game other than Shakir to score a touchdown this year, and Kincaid has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

We did see yesterday that Buffalo is calling up some interesting reinforcements. The team used its Saturday transactions to sign Mecole Hardman from the practice squad to the active roster while choosing to elevate Gabe Davis and tight end Keleki Latu as standard gameday practice squad elevations.

Davis was a reliable WR2 for Allen behind Stefon Diggs for four years before flaming out in Jacksonville with disappointing production on a three-year, $39MM contract. After only racking up 239 yards in 10 games, Davis’ season ended with a torn meniscus. The combination of concern for his recovery, Brian Thomas Jr.‘s stellar rookie campaign, and the arrival of No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter led the Jaguars to release Davis after his lone year with the team.

It’s to be determined how Hardman — a role player for years in Kansas City — will fit into the new offense or how much Latu — making his NFL debut after going undrafted out of Washington — will be utilized. The bigger mystery, though, concerns the future of Coleman. A healthy scratch will easily be a low point in his young career, and it will be interesting to follow how he responds to this style of coaching given his response alike punishment in the past.

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